Rumors of an impending attack on the island of goblins had been circulating for some time, and the notorious Holly Bloodhand herself had been spotted sailing toward Pitmuck. On Saturday, February 7th at 8PM EST, citizens from all over Sosaria gathered in the Vesper Auction House and Tavern to form a defense force and hopefully intercept Bloodhand before she could reach the island.

The group quickly traveled to a boat near Pitmuck, the captain of which claimed to know Bloodhand’s exact location.

However, an interception was not to be: before ever spotting Bloodhand OR Pitmuck, a Scalis Enforcer appeared! They hastily sailed on to Pitmuck, where they could form a solid defense against the Scalis, and no sooner had they defeated it than Bloodhand sailed up and boldly stepped off the ship to taunt the crowd.

Oddly, she was alone–the rumored fleet was nowhere to be seen. When asked where her fleet was, she had a peculiar answer:

Then she did something even more peculiar: she threw mysterious bottles at the defenders.

She then summoned a harbinger and sailed around the island while the defenders defeated it. Upon its defeat they followed her once more… to find a strange sight. What appeared to be an intact ship’s hold jutted out of the ground as if forced up through the earth. Bloodhand, clearly enjoying herself, made a few cryptic remarks about her so-called uncle, a mage known for his incredibly powerful translocation magics, having put it there for her… and that he could take it away.

And take it away he apparently did. The hold disappeared, and out poured well over a dozen rune beetles. Holly crowed on about how these were matured Pitmuck pinworms (perhaps all that remained of some of her missing crew?) as the pheromones she’d doused everyone with earlier drove the creatures into a frenzy.

She left the ship a few more times, leading the defenders on a wild chase around the island into two more harbingers and dozens of treasure guardians. It seemed almost as though she was toying with them. Then suddenly, she announced that she had what she’d come for. She sailed away, leaving the defenders confused.

The answer came quickly. A woman from Nujel’m hurried up to the crowd, out of breath and distraught. She reported dire news indeed: while Pitmuck was being defended, Nujel’m had been overrun by pirates! The group quickly made their way to Nujel’m to find that, indeed, a number of pirates had taken up residence in the city. They found Bloodhand again just before she sailed away, supposedly for a victory drink with her uncle.

Fortunately, many of the defenders were quite familiar with her “uncle”, and had even secured his current location beforehand just in case. They quickly regrouped and headed off in pursuit. Indeed, he was not far at all from Nujel’m…

Corgul the Soulbinder, or “Uncle Corgul” as Bloodhand calls him, put up quite a fight, but he was no match for the defenders. Unfortunately Bloodhand either never bothered to have that drink with Corgul, or her taunting words were just another misdirection–she was nowhere to be found.

It was also later discovered that she in fact had made away from Pitmuck with a large supply of ice cream, ostensibly when the defenders were under heavy opposition from her strange army of creatures.

So the good news: save for the plundering of its ice cream stores, Pitmuck is safe. No permanent damage appears to have been done, and the island is free of pirates.

The bad news: the attack on Pitmuck was only a diversion, and now Nujel’m appears to be under Bloodhand’s control.

What is going on with these “Pitmuck pinworms” and the strange pheromones Bloodhand cooked up? What is she doing in Nujel’m? What will she do next? And what of the ice cream–could this be related to the ice cream theft in Jhelom? Only time will tell, so keep your eyes and ears open!

On Monday, February 2nd, citizens from around Sosaria answered the call of Governor Tehan of Yew. It seemed that Orcish Chief Crak’Trizh had made another threat on the city of Yew:

The volunteers assembled in front of the Empath Abbey and proceeded to the Yew prison to interrogate Orcish prisoners about Crak’Trizh… where they discovered that the prisoners had been transferred to Governor Tehan’s personal office in Dragon’s Watch.

After expelling an aggressive interloper who may or may not have been allied with Crak’Trizh, they they discovered that the governor had performed various forms of torture upon the prisoners in an effort to extract information… and only one remained alive.

Orcish prisoner Kipu refused to speak with Governor Tehan in the room, but when he grudgingly left, someone handed him a banana that he requested and he became a bit more forthcoming. He indicated that Crak’Trizh hadn’t just targeted Yew–he’d left a surprise for EVERY city governor. A quick search of the governors’ offices yielded a number of bombs! Each one had a letter incripted on it… and when all the bombs were gathered, it was clear that they spelled the word “justice”.

While there was speculation that this was some form of Orcish justice, some recalled that the last place Crak’Trizh was seen was near Justice Falls. The group followed Governor Tehan to a ship he had parked near there, and they shortly discovered what had to be Crak’Trizh’s hideout.

The door was barricaded, but the barricade was no match for the ship’s powerful cannon. The group entered the hideout and had to destroy another barricade with explosion potions. They’d almost reached Crak’Trizh… but he pulled up the rope ladder before they could get to him on the top floor. He ran into a death vortex within a blood pentagam and disappeared momentarily… and returned as a daemon!

He ran outside and summoned an ally to aid him–a harbinger. He then escaped in the confusion that followed. The group triumphed over the creature, but Crak’Trizh remains at large.

Many unanswered questions remain after the events that unfolded. What is Crak’Trizh up to? How did he get the power to transform into a daemon and summon such unholy allies? What more does Kipu know… and will he live long enough to tell it? We’ll have to wait until next time to find out!

Governor Scabby put out a call to arms, as he continued the investigation into the mysterious icy patches and moongate. It did not take long for a motley crew of roughnecks to descend on to the Hand of Death Guild Hall in Jhelom.

As the menacing group awaited the arrival of the Governor of Jhelom, they played a rousing game of Duck-Duck-Goose!

Governor Scabby arrived shortly after and got everyone into place, He started barking out orders of the soon to be raid on Ice Dungeon looking for clues about the mysterious happenings.

As the rowdy group was preparing to leave, they suddenly found themselves under siege by a group of unknown arctic creatures.

The deadly fight quickly headed towards the mysterious moongate. The arctic creatures put on a valiant fight but were eventually defeated.

The exhausted group gathered at the moongate to regroup and catch their breath. It was there that they noticed that the gate had changed. It seemed alive yet gave off an icy cold aura, almost as if it were oozing death itself. As they looked for clues, they came across a book that had a strange an eerie sentence written inside. “All Hail the Arctic Tyrant” As Governor Scabby read aloud the cryptic message, he was suddenly transported from Jhelom to another area. After a quick recon, they found that they were outside Ice Dungeon, the very place that they had been about to raid. The coincidence was not missed by Governor Scabby and he quickly order his defenders inside the dungeon.

Once inside they quickly found a clue, it was a page torn our of a book!

After seeing the fiendish claw marks, they decided to head to the heart of the dungeon. Rumor has it that the a fiendish creature lives there and they needed to find out for sure. They battled their way through countless creatures and finally made it to the area they were looking for. Little did they know that the Ice Fiend had company!

After dispatching, the Ice Fiends and other creatures, the Arctic Ice Tyrant showed his face again and attacked the weary group. They put up a valiant fight and vanquished him with a vengeance! They started to explore the remainder of the rooms looking for clues when they came across something very strange. It was an ice cream recipe book owned by the Jhelom Ice Creem Shoppe located at the docks on the N/E side of the main island.

As they pondered on how and why it was removed from the ice cream shoppe. they were startled by the sudden appearance of another creature, the Glacial Lich. He let them know that he would never return the book and that they would suffer. As he disappeared, he left a small army of unfrozen mummies to keep the adventurers busy.

The worn out band of adventurers returned to Jhelom and decided to rest at the scene of the crime, the Ice Cream Shoppe. After recapping the events, they deduced that the Glacial Lich had stolen the recipe book from the Ice Cream Shoppe. They discovered that Governor Scabby had obtained the book from a wandering gypsy in Minoc who gave it to him in return for rotten food. It was also brought to light that the freezer had been designed and built by a tinker from Trinsic who had obtained the ice for the freezer directly from Ice Dungeon itself. Governor Scabby has pledged to find this gypsy by asking Governor Vic II of Minoc to assist. He and Governor Phoenix of Trinsic will attempt to locate and interrogate the tinker that had designed and built the freezer.

On a side note, it was commented on that the cobblestone in Ice Dungeon was in much better shape than the loosely fitted stones that pass for pavement in Britain, Travelers in Britain beware!

Pit muck hosted it’s first ever goblin run auction Friday night. It was considered a success and enjoyed by all. Governor Vic II of Minoc posted the following results:

Number of lots: 20 Total Sold ?? (goblins can’t count) Average ?? Largest Item: Pitmuck Pinworm Cure sold for 1 mill and a piece of licorice Smallest Item: Coupon Book sold for 4 green toenails Most fought over item: Goblin Playdoh sold for 15 invis pots Most interesting item: Box of 38 bananas from Nu’Jelm sold for 89 zoogie fungus

They sold an odd assortment of items and accepted even more bizarre payments.

The auction was a success despite the typical goblinism that you would expect at a goblin auction. Goblins are not known for their education and ended up breaking a rare obsidian statue while fighting over it trying to read the label. Towards the end of the auction, goblinism struck again when one of them dropped a package containing a valuable poinsettia.

When asked about future auctions, the goblins responded with a resounding “Me don knows!” If you run across a goblin auction, make sure you bring all the pocket lint, green toenail clippings, and and squishy turnips you can find!

Strange things were afoot in Jhelom. Governor Scabby had found a path of icy patches leading from the Hand of Death Guild Hall in South/East Jhelom that led to a mysterious moongate. Scabby called in for reinforcement in case of danger. Many adventurers showed up including Lt. Governor of Jhelom Ozog, Governor Ivy of Vesper, Governor Vic II of Minoc, Governor Murdock of Britain, Governor Lauren of Moonglow, Ashlyn of Cove, Nanoc, Red Snapper, Giggles, Nubby, OC, Sparrow and others. Governor Pheonix could not make it but sent her Alchemist, Walt, to assist.

The group noticed that Jhelom’s temperature, which was normally hot and humid, seemed to be cooling off and the ice did not appear to be melting. Walt analyzed the ice to determine that it was made up of some sort of magical essence and had an oily substance to it. They followed the trail to the mysterious moongate which had ice seeping out of the bottom of it. There was a strange force field protecting the gate and not letting anyone through it. Walt the Alchemist warned everyone to stand back, if anyone were to get some of the icy substance on their skin, they would become delirious and would eventually become paralyzed.

The group weighed their options and chose to go in search of clues to the origin of the mysterious moongate and the ice. They quickly gated to Dagger Island, locally referred to as Ice Island. Walt took some samples, while the ice was similar to that of Jhelom, it lacked the magical essence and oily texture. Governor Scabby noted that he was getting a strange feeling that they were being watched, and Walt informed the group that he had come across some readings that suggested that the ice may have originated in Tokuno.

The group quickly departed and traveled to Winter Spur on Isamu-Jima Island in Tokuno. As soon as they arrived to a location right outside of Winter Spur, they were attacked by Ronins which the group quickly dispatched. They traveled into Winter Spur and were immediately attacked by Ice and Snow Elementals. A large battle ensued and eventually the Lady of the Snow attacked. Things were rough but the group prevailed and Walt was able to get his samples.

Walt inadvertently touched some ice identical to that near the moongate and quickly became delirious. He left the safety of the group and wandered out of Winter Spur and was quickly attacked by Rune Beetles and Evil Mages. A rescue party was formed and Walt was saved from danger. Exhausted, the adventurers left and regrouped in PaxOku to review the finding and implications. They decided to get some rest and plan a visit to Kos Heb West in The Lost Lands and into Ice Dungeon to see if they can find any answers there.

The Chesapeake Governor’s Council Meeting started out like any other, the King discussed ongoing issues in the Kingdom, the governor’s discussed events in their cities, onlookers looked on with keen interest or slept noisily. When all of a sudden, out of thin air, black specters appeared. They were quickly dispatched by the governors and onlookers. While the King and governors discussed the incident, trying to figure out how they got through the magic enchantment defenses, an unknown figure appeared. The King recognized the voice and was distraught on the implications.

The unknown stranger moved dangerously close to the King!! The governors quickly surrounded him in a defensive posture, hoping to protect him from danger.

The King soon discovered that he was correct on who the voice sounded like…Nystul!!

Nystul’s image faded in and out as he spoke, at one point he assumed the form of a former man named David. King Blackthorn tried desperately to keep Nystul from fading, even working some magic of his own.

As quickly as he appeared and in the same manner, he disappeared in a huge flash of flames and a loud explosion!

The King and governors are left with many questions as they try and ponder what happened and the message Nystul was trying to convey. Hopefully we will learn more at next month’s Chesapeake Governor’s Council Meeting.

Please Note that on Saturday, January 24th at 5:00pm ET Mesanna will be on hand at our Hall of Commons location for those players who gained the silver pirate cutlasses to adjust them so they are able to be equipped. Thank you.

In this weeks sporting news, the player city of Guardians Gate hosted many of the finest archers in the realm inside the cities famed Coliseum. Fourteen competitors from near and far took aim at the nights 1,000,000 gold purse as six rounds of tight matches took place with many of those coming down to the final shots to be decided.

In the end there was no match for Lady Sweet Touch as she swept her way through the nights field undefeated not only claiming the nights grand prize but also racking up the nights best ten shot score of 530! Her efforts were worth 2,000,000 gold! Rounding out the top three were Lord Aliric and Lady Pandora respectively.Congratultions to the nights Champion and all who came out to compete!

This week the city of Britain and it’s Governor Murdock Redbone held a fund raising venture with a twist as patrons gathered to aid the city in its trade endevours. The mission was simple, complete as many trade requests as possible in thiry minutes time.

As if shot from a cannon, citizens were off traveling to the city docks to meet with the trade minister. Gathering mission after mission, Thier hard work was rewarded as a grand total of 48 trade requests were met as the Governor praised everyone involved for thier efforts!

After a brief speech we were wisked via moongate to the east side of town to the local tavern as many ales were had by all as the Governor lamented on the great turnout and effort everyone had put forth. Once done, the Governor rewarded his citizens with a game of chance as those who participated rolled the dice to see who would garner the nights prizes. The top roller was Lord Nanoc of Dragons Watch with a 19 followed closely by Lady Dark Rayne and Lord OC. IN the end all the spoils were gratuitously donated to the city coffers! Thank You Governor Redbone for a grand event!

The first auction of the year was a great time. There were a lot of awesome items including some high end ones as well. No auction is complete with comments from the peanut gallery and some drama involved. This auction was better! The night started out like a typical Friday at the Vesper Auction. Some nice items were sold and buyers were trying to wake up Jack Sparrow. Jack seemed to have stayed out late the night prior and was possibly suffering the after effects of a night of drinking too much ale at the local tavern. At one point as someone yelled to him, he awoke with a jump and instinctively bid 1 million.

Breaks are taken every hour on the hour and the first one was special. OC deiced that it was a perfect time to propose to short time (and I do mean short time :P) lady love Red Snapper. There were some shouts of encouragement, some shouts of it is a life sentence, and someone even commented that it would be awkward if she said no. The UO Gods must have been looking down fondly on OC and Red Snapper said YES!

The auction continued but stopped at one point to investigate a claim made about one of the auction items that had just been purchased for a very hefty sum. Ivy and Victor did some quick investigating and decided that the claim had some validity and the item was pulled. The seller was not aware of the issue and was free from blame. Vesper Auction House protects its buyers and sellers and I applaud them for their due diligence!

The Vesper Auction- Every Other Friday at 8PM ET: http://community.stratics.com/threads/the-vesper-auction-every-other-friday-at-8pm-et-full-schedule-and-rules-inside.308690/